Ubisoft’s latest financial results are in, but there is one particular excerpt from the report that is of significant interest.
The publisher’s lineup up through April 2014 includes five titles. Ubisoft cited three games: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Watch Dogs. The company also teased “two titles that have not yet been announced, including one new creation.”
That “new creation” term is likely alluding to a new IP of some kind. The other is probably based on an existing franchise.
The latest fiscal year ends on March 31. Both of these unannounced titles should be out by then.
New Monster Hunter 4 details have finally emerged from Famitsu. Here’s a roundup of information included in the magazine:
– Frozen Sea: blizzards are common
– Made up of ice floating above the sea
– Beautiful displays of aurora borealis
– White rabbit-like beasts known as the Lagombi live in the area’s northern districts
– These creatures will attack hunters with snowballs
– Hunters assailed by snowballs will turn into snowmen
– New monster Skuagil (Sukuagiru)
– Pounces from the Frozen Sea’s waters
– Skuagil attacks and skewers hunters with its sharp head
– Skuagil gain nourishment from hunting their prey, causing their bodies to swell up to several times their usual size
– Another new monster: Arselnus
– Arselnus is a rhinoceros beetle-type creature that excels at flight
– Arselnus attacks in mid-air with its sharp horns
– It could be a troublesome opponent due to its acid spray, which has a corroding effect on hunters
System 3 announced Putty Squad earlier today, an update of the classic 1994 game. This isn’t the only remake in the works. In an interview with Nintendo Life, studio founder Mark Cale teased “a very big announcement” that will be made “just before E3”.
He said:
“We have a very big announcement to make just before E3. I will give a hint: do you like building simulators?”
That title will likely make an appearance on both of Nintendo’s platforms. According to Cale, “All of our games are planned to support 3DS and Wii U where possible.”
Precursor Games has been receiving a lot of press as of late for Shadow of the Eternals. But Precursor was established from former members of Silicon Knights. Speaking of which, what are the staffers at Silicon Knights up to these days?
According to chief financial officer Mike Mays, the company is “mostly working on legal issues.” Mays wouldn’t say how many employees are at Silicon Knights, but it is “more than one.”
Mays commented on a few other things as well. Mays first clarified that when employees left Silicon Knights, they had the opportunity to buy art. While Denis Dyack did not make any purchases, other staffers – who are now at Precursor – did. Staffers were also given the option to “take computers”, but hardware was not removed immediately due to legal complications with Epic Games. Moved PCs needed to be fully wiped before they could be transferred out of Silicon Knights.
Finally, Mays told Game Informer that the studio possesses a very small amount of material from Eternal Darkness. That makes sense based on the fact that Nintendo owns the IP.
Warner Bros. recently invited numerous members of the press to get a quick taste of Scribblenauts Unmasked. You can find a roundup of GamesBeat’s report below.
– “We have all the DC Comics characters, the entire roster. We’re talking people who are mainline, New 52 Justice League and also characters who appeared in one panel in one comic in 1976.” – senior producer Caleb Barstow
– Over 2,000 DC Universe characters and their variants
– 33 different Batmans
– Items and vehicles from the franchise’s nearly 80-year history
– Aquaman, Golden Age Flash and Atom, Ambush Bug, Firestorm, Starfire, Jim Gordon, Power Girl, Red Tornado, Abin Sur, Raven, and Booster Gold are included
– 130 Green Lanterns
– Also has almost th efull Corps., plus the entire Blackest Night cast of Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Indigo, Violet, and Black Lanterns
– Batcave, Oa, Gotham City, Wayne Manor, and Wonder Woman’s home island of Themyscira are included
– Story: Maxwell and Lilly travel to the DC Universe to settle their Batman vs. Superman debate
– The two get involved with the full Justice League group to deal with currently unknown crimes
– Adjectives are back
– Can summon a zombie Batman
– 5th Cell hasn’t found a limit on the amount of characters you can have on-screen yet
– Hero Creator lets you make a mashup person from Superman’s chest, Flash’s “wing” ears, and Aquaman’s arms
– Other designs combine elements from past Scribblenauts games
– Can add “many” powers to your original characters
– New reputation system: earn points for completing dynamics feats around the level
– On Oa, someone calls out: “Rooster! I need a weapon!”
– Elsewhere, Cyborg shouts: “I’m out of electricity! Shock me!”
– Use points on a new Batman costume for Maxwell, new level, etc.
– Watchmen isn’t in the game
There’s one big Toki Tori 2 feature that wasn’t quite ready for launch: the level editor. Fortunately, Two Tribes recently confirmed that the feature is still on the way. While no date has been set for its release, the studio has assured that the functionality is “still heavily in development”.
